


Be Your Hero

by dreamcatcher (darcangell23)



Category: Glee
Genre: AU research, M/M, Rescue Mission, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-23 11:55:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9656468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darcangell23/pseuds/dreamcatcher
Summary: Kurt Hummel, head of the Travel Department in New Directions, a core sector of the Global Labs of Existential Experience (G.L.E.E.) has been assigned to reverse the murder of a boy named Blaine Anderson and recruit him for the major corporation. But he's not the only one trying to be Blaine's hero. And Blaine, may have eyes for one of them. Will Kurt succeed and change Blaine's future for the better? Or will Sebastian succeed and eventually make him miserable?





	1. Prologue: The Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> Guess what? I'm alive! Guess what? I'm so sorry that my drive for fiction writing has kind of gone awry as I almost never finish even a chapter. And guess what? I'm computer less again. About a month after I bought my brand new HP laptop, we suffered a fire that completely gutted the apartment and destroyed everything, including my new HP, the Mac I still had, and both my flash drives. As well as all my Chris autographs, all my Darren autographs, and my one Matt Morrison autograph. But fear not! I got Chris' again at TLOS5 and he said he would hire me when I asked if he would consider casting fans as extras! And I got Darren's again at Hedwig in San Francisco, along with a selfie with him and a hug! Amaze balls, right?!
> 
> Anyway, for those of you still waiting for an update to the second installment of my soulmate/slave trade collection, I have not forgotten and am currently re-reading it all to pick up a train of thought to hopefully continue in the near future. For now, please accept this new endeavor which was inspired by my watching all those top ten list videos on YouTube.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos make me smile!

Fwop!

Artie Abrams glanced down at the heavy file that had just been dropped on his desk before raising an eyebrow and glancing up at the woman who stood before him, arms now crossed over her chest and an 'I don't care' expression staring right back at him.

"And what is this Lopez?" he asked. Santana Lopez, an AR Jumper for the New Directions core of the G.L.E.E. or Global Labs of Existential Experience, matched Artie's raised eyebrow before moving just long enough to slam her hands palm flat on the desk in front of her.

"A murder case that needs to be reversed," she told him in an exasperated voice. Artie once more glanced at the file, which the victim's name had been printed in script type on the tab at the top.

"Anderson, Blaine?" he questioned, not even bothering to open the file. "Who is this guy? Lopez, you know that we only work to change the outcome of well known people and events. The time travel department is very sticky and we can only change things we know won't necessarily have severe impact on the outcome of the future. That's why we have the AR department," he said.

Santana rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in frustration as she turned away from his desk. "You don't get it Abrams," she said. "I pulled this file out because he has recruit written all over him!"

Artie stared at her for a long moment. "You know the policy," he said. "No recruiting murder victims. It's too dangerous to tell them they are here because they were originally killed but we changed that."

Santana began pacing the office. She knew the policy very well. But she also knew there were loopholes and special circumstances and she had already researched the timeline in which Blaine was saved by them and pulled into their very operations. He was a rare exception to the rule.

"Abrams, you know I am the best AR Jumper you've got," she finally said.

That was true. Santana had been one of the longest running Alternate Reality Jumpers he'd had at New Directions. She had very quickly proven her capabilities and was currently head of the AR department. He knew it was smarter not to just toss this file aside. If she was asking they recruit this Anderson person, than she must have had a very good reason. Of course, knowing Lopez, she would only ever give him vague answers when he asked for reason. She had a way of withholding information to the point where it wasn't a bad thing to learn what she knew in due time. Besides, the AR department was under order not to divulge too much information.

"Am I going to get anything out of you about why this is a good idea?" he asked, setting his glasses down on top of the file and wheeling his chair out from behind the desk and sitting with his hands in his lap to the side of it.

A smirk crossed the Latina's face and she knelt down to be more at her boss' level. "Let's just say recruiting Anderson will be the best thing for someone else here," she told him and Artie became aware that she must have seen something develop between Anderson and one of his employees. He merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"I won't ask details but this better be a good decision Lopez. If the main G.L.E.E. headquarters gets wind of any bad moves on our part, New Directions could be in danger."

Santana again rolled her eyes. "Because we're on the underdog company list, I know." She sighed and headed for the door. "I think Hummel will be perfect for the job," she stated and Artie looked at her for a long moment.

"I'll discuss it with him when he returns," he finally said.

"Where is he?" she asked with a furrowed brow.

"On the Ripper case," he replied and Santana stared at him.

"You put Hummel on the Ripper case?" she asked incredulously.

Artie returned his chair to his desk and looked her straight in the eye. "Lopez, you know as well as I do that Hummel has as much credibility in the Travel Department as you do in the AR Department," he said firmly.

She looked at him for another moment before giving her head a short nod and disappearing out the door.

Artie pressed a button and a hologram of a blonde woman popped up in front of him on his desk.

"Abrams," the woman said in greeting.

Artie nodded his head. "Fabray," he replied.

"To what do I owe the honor or your message boss?" she asked.

Artie glanced at the file and then back at the woman before he responded. "When Hummel returns from the Ripper case, please tell him that I would like to see him in my office about a special assignment," he told her.

"Of course boss," the woman called Fabray replied with a nod of her head.

If there was one thing about Quinn Fabray that Artie admired, it was that she never asked questions in situations such as this one. This was something many of the employees would automatically want to know more about but Quinn was very good at her job and keeping her head out of places it didn't belong.

"How is he doing with the Ripper case?" Artie asked and Quinn glanced down at the unseen screens in front of her.

"He's made progress. I'm pretty sure he's very close to returning from step one," she replied.

Artie nodded his head. "Good. I know Hummel is the leader but this special assignment for him is crucial so tell him I would like for Chang to take over the Ripper case. He'll know what to do," he told her.

"Sure boss," Quinn replied. Although it could not be well depicted, Artie could make out there was some sort of flash behind her in the Travel Lab. "I've got to go. Someone is returning. It may be Hummel," she told Artie.

"Right," Artie replied and with a cordial nod from each party, the transmission was ended.

On Quinn's side of things, the blonde woman was turning to face the lit platform where the light was emanating from and a figure was slowly beginning to materialize, crouched on a round disk in the center of the platform.

Slowly, the figure began to stand, tall and slender, and as more developed, presumed to be wearing period clothing from the 1800s. His skin was a creamy smooth pale white color and his hair was a gorgeous shade of chestnut brown, swept up off his head in a fashion suitable for the period. But perhaps the most stunning feature of all, was his piercing glasz eyes.

Kurt Hummel, head of the Travel Department at New Directions stepped down off the platform with a clack of the period heels he was wearing.

"Welcome back Hummel," Quinn said as the man glanced around the lab.

"Are you the only one here right now Fabray?" he asked and she nodded her head.

"Lunch period sir," she replied. "Abrams called while you were away. He said he wants to see you about a special assignment," she told him.

"But the Ripper case is incomplete," Kurt replied. He raised an eyebrow.

"He knows," Quinn told him. "He said to have Chang take over. Apparently this assignment is very important and it sounds like it has your name written all over it."

Kurt looked at her for a moment, working to strip off the period coat and set it on the back of a chair. He wasn't sure what was so important that Abrams was pulling him off the Ripper case to tend to it. He was aware that Chang was more than capable of fulfilling the duties needed to complete the Ripper case, but it was rare that anyone was asked to discontinue a case for a different assignment.

"Make sure Chang reads over the file before he goes. All my observations should be logged in there already so he's all set for phase two," he told her. Quinn nodded her head in reply. "I'll see you later."

Without bothering to change into his regular clothes, Kurt swept from the Travel Lab and made his way through the many twisting corridors toward Artie's office. And he nearly ran smack into Santana as he turned a corner.

"Well, porcelain boy returns. Tell me," she said. "How was 1800s England?" Kurt could sense the sarcastic tone in her voice but he knew she meant no harm by it. It was usually just the way she spoke to people.

He rolled his eyes. "Dirty," was all he said. "What are you doing down here? The AR Department is on the complete opposite side of the building."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Relax. Hudson just wanted me to deliver something to Fabray. I'll deliver something alright. That I'm not their messenger pigeon." Without another word, she swept around him and disappeared around the corner he had just come from. Kurt shook his head and continued on his way to the head office.

As he walked along, Kurt couldn't help but to think back to how he became who he was. G.L.E.E. was a corporation everyone had heard of but not everyone knew what it entailed. The different companies within the G.L.E.E. corporation were made up of officers and agents that may have very likely not ever known each other otherwise. Because the companies were made up of people who came from different periods of life. The heads of the corporation itself sought out the most brilliant minds and faces and people in general to get it started.

Back then, there was one headquarters and all the technology and devices were top secret. People in the upper ladder of the G.L.E.E. corporation began to build it from ground up. They hand selected people from all walks of life and all periods, something only people working within the corporation would have an understanding of how. It eventually grew large enough to develop core sectors all over the world. New Directions was one of them. Originally founded by William Schuester, the company was now lead by Artie Abrams, which came as a surprise because everyone thought that Will would leave Finn Hudson in charge. Or Sam Evans for that matter.

Will had left New Directions when he had been promoted at corporate headquarters, which in turn meant he could no longer run operations at New Directions. He had done an amazing job at hand selecting the original team of New Directions, which by the end of it's first month of business, only entailed of Will, and six promising recruits. Artie Abrams, Finn Hudson, Kurt Hummel, Rachel Berry, Mercedes Jones, and Tina Cohen-Chang. By the end of two months, their number had doubled and they'd added Santana Lopez, Quinn Fabray, Brittany Pierce, Matt Rutherford, Noah Puckerman, and Mike Chang to their team.

It was those twelve and Will until New Directions reached its one year mark, at which time Matt left the New Directions, dropping their numbers to eleven. Their history after that was a dramatic mix of chaos that was complicated to follow.

Kurt had reached Artie's office and knocked lightly on the door.

"Enter!" Artie called from inside.

Kurt proceeded to enter the office. "You wanted to see me boss?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

Artie had been reading through the Anderson file as he waited for Kurt to return from the Ripper case and come to his office. He put his glasses down on top of the file like he had when he'd been speaking to Santana, and once more, rolled his chair out from behind the desk.

"Lopez picked up an assignment she felt might be perfect for you," he started. "Though I'm not sure why. I suspect it has to do with her research surrounding the different timelines of the subject."

"Is the subject gay?" Kurt deadpanned and Artie looked at him.

"What ever would give you that idea?" he asked.

Kurt let out a scoff and threw his hands up in the air. "This is Santana we are talking about here," he said, doing the rare thing by referring to her by first name. "Despite how good an agent she is, her number one goal in life is to get me laid." Artie stared at him for a long moment. "You can't deny it Abrams. I know you want to, even trying to but on a personal level, you and I both know you can't."

Artie knew that he was right. Outwardly, New Directions kept interactions professional. But being a part of this corporation as a whole was a twenty-four job and the people you worked with became a family to you. You got down on a personal level with them as well as the professional level.

"Yes," Artie finally said. "The subject is gay. But this is a very crucial assignment because Lopez thinks he's a good candidate for recruit."

Kurt gave his head a nod. "Okay so if this a recruit job, why not get Berry from the Recruiting Department?"

Artie let out a sigh and wheeled closer to him. "Because Kurt. The subject is a murder victim." Kurt stared at him for a very long moment, not sure what to say. "I know there are warnings against reversing a person's demise and recruiting them to the cause because in most cases, it is not good on the person's sanity. But Lopez is good at her job and I trust her judgement that recruiting this young man will be for the greater good of the New Directions—"

His words were cut off as Santana suddenly barged into the room without knocking, looking positively frazzled.

"We have a problem," she stated in a short tone of voice. Kurt and Artie looked at her, prompting for her to go on. "I've just received word that Smythe is going after our prize," she said.

"The Smythe? As in Sebastian 'Head of the Warblers' Smythe?" Kurt stated and Santana nodded her head. Kurt quickly turned to Artie and extended his hand. "Give me the file," he said. "Like hell am I going to let Sebastian Smythe of all people recruit this poor soul. If what Lopez predicts about how he handles learning he's here because we reversed his murder is correct, that prediction will no doubt will be overturned if Smythe wins."

Artie and Santana glanced at each other and then back at Kurt.

"You sure you want to take on Smythe, Hummel?" Artie asked. Kurt nodded.

"This is the last time I let him one up us. I'm not doing this mission in phases. I will return with—" He cut off in order to look at the name on the file. "Blaine Anderson," he finished. And without another word, Kurt swept from the office, a highly determined look on his face.


	2. The First Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait. I started this chapter right away after the first one went up and then lost time to work on it again for a little. I have it now! And I have some ideas about what is going to happen in a few chapters. The main part of this story is going to be about saving Blaine but there will be pre-saving Blaine chapters as I'm calling them. Most of the story will take place when Blaine is fifteen. But I need to do a build up that I feel is suitable from Kurt's POV.
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos make me smile! I hope you enjoy!

If there was one thing that Kurt was certain of in his quest to beat Smythe, it was that he knew he wouldn't attempt to build a trust system with Blaine first. He would want to get the job done with quick and easy. Smythe's way of dealing with the issue, show up mere hours before the incident, point blank explain what was going on, grab him, and go. Without waiting to see if the victim responded well to the information.

In fact, judging by the photo in the file, Kurt was one hundred percent sure he knew exactly what Smythe's reason for going after Blaine was. Everyone knew the meerkat was a slime ball. Including the rest of The Warblers core. Kurt had always wondered why that particular company was made up of males but the only info provided on the corporation website was that they had named their core in honor of a school called Dalton Academy. Information available on the website was vague on purpose and only extremely high officials could get access to all the detailed information. Kurt had intended to look Dalton Academy up but he had not had a moment free to do so.

Smythe had not always been Head of Operations for The Warblers. In fact, he had barely been new recruit status when he was suddenly at the top of the ladder. No doubt someone connected to him paid big bucks to some schmuck at corporation headquarters to put him there. The business was not without its rats. In any case, Smythe had no clue what he was doing and since he had taken over top spot, The Warblers' reputation had started to decline. One of their other higher positions, the man who was the equivalent to Kurt's status at New Directions had informed Kurt that Smythe had already started to wheedle in the wrong kind of people for recruiting.

The newest of these conquests was a man named Hunter Clarington and it became clear in no time that he was willing to lie and cheat to make sure things went his way. It was starting to get bad enough that some of The Warblers' best agents were poised to quit the job and return to their normal lives.

But Kurt was certain Smythe had other ideas for attempting to recruit Blaine. Every one of these ideas was likely directly linked to the slime ball's sexual appetite. Kurt had never known a man that had sex so often it was surprising he had time to even do the job. Seriously, how was headquarters just overlooking this? They were likely being paid off to keep their mouths shut. At least the rats were.

In any case, Smythe's one-two-three way of doing things kind of gave Kurt the upper hand. Artie had likely requested him to have Chang take over the Ripper case because he knew this would be a long one. The best way to make the transition from former murder victim to recruit of the G.L.E.E. corporation was a slow build relationship prior to the point of death. And though Blaine would have the knowledge of knowing the truth by the time Kurt brought him back, doing things this way, would insure that he was well prepared for it.

This meant Kurt had to gain Blaine's trust well ahead of time. Which was why the head of the Travel Department found himself materializing in an alleyway just down the block from where Blaine attended morning kindergarten. Kids did not start remembering things until the age of three but starting with Blaine at three would likely not be entirely coherent so Kurt was starting with Blaine at the age of five.

Another advantage Kurt had with starting this early was that if Smythe showed up mere hours before the time of Blaine's murder, Kurt would be able to stop it in its tracks when it played out in the timeline he had joined. It was a round about way of defeating Smythe and though Kurt had never worked in the AR Department, his knowledge of alternate realities and how they played a part in their missions was extraordinary.

He poked his head out of the alleyway and glanced both ways down the street. There was no sign of anyone who might have been passing by when he arrived, which was good. The worst thing you could ever have to do in this line of work was explain to someone how you materialized out of thin air.

Kurt had to be careful in this time period as well. It was tricky because Blaine was from his own generation and in this year that he was standing in, he himself was about five or six. He remembered it well. It was how old he had been when his mother had started to get sick. But Blaine lived in Westerville, two hours away from Lima where Kurt grew up and Kurt's family had never had reason to go to Westerville. However, that didn't mean that Kurt would not run into someone he knew there.

Kurt had just been ready to turn the corner when he heard voices from up the street and he slunk back into the alley, pressing himself flat against the wall.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell them what the doctor said Pam," a woman's voice cut through the silence and Kurt froze. Even after she'd been dead this many years, Kurt would recognize the sound of his mother's voice anywhere. But what in the world was she doing in Westerville? He garnered what she was talking about meant he was on a day that took place sometime before his mother had told him and his father about her condition. This must have been one of her doctor's visits.

And then he remembered a day when mommy had gone to the doctors and left Kurt with a baby-sitter because on the day in question, Kurt was home sick with chicken pox. She hadn't come home for some time. By the time she had come back, his dad had come home from work. Could she really have been driving off to Westerville in all that time? And who was Pam?

Wait. Pam. Why did that name sound familiar? Kurt quickly pulled the file from the shoulder bag he was carrying and scanned the basics. That's where he saw it. Pamela 'Pam' Anderson was Blaine's mother. But how did Elizabeth know her?

"You can't keep hiding it from them forever Lizzie," another woman's voice said, causing Kurt to slip the file back into his bag and open his ears to catch what they were saying. "What should happen if you don't make it and Burt is left without answers?"

It was silent for a moment. "But how? How do you tell the people you love most in the world that you might die?" Elizabeth responded.

In that moment, Kurt desperately wanted to change the outcome of his mother's illness. It wasn't the first time he had considered it. But Santana's research on the timeline of events on what would have happened if Elizabeth Hummel had survived, proved that changing her death would be a cosmic break. Meaning the world would be largely effected. It was just one of those things. And it was the only thing that kept him from going through with it.

"Unfortunately," Pam said, "I don't think there is an easy way to say something like that. Especially when talking to a young child."

Elizabeth let out a sigh and Kurt could hear them approaching the alleyway and he pressed himself as flat against the wall as he could, particularly when he heard their footsteps stop just out of eyesight of him.

"You and Blaine, you'll look out for Kurt right?" Elizabeth asked.

It was Pam's turned to sigh. "I can try Lizzie. But you know doing that on a motherly level would entail moving to Lima and James will never allow it," she said.

"What does your husband have against my husband and my son?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's not so much your son," Pam said sadly. "James just feels Burt should have a more suitable job for a father, particularly one expecting to raise more than one child. I'm not sure why. He just is disapproving of any man who isn't a doctor or a lawyer or a professor at the least."

It was quiet for another moment. A moment in which Kurt had time to wonder what the hell she was talking about. A man expecting to raise more than one child. Kurt was an only child. He didn't have any siblings. Nor did he remember a time when his mother might have been pregnant.

"That's another thing I haven't told him yet," Elizabeth said, breaking Kurt from his thoughts. "The illness…well, it caused me to have a miscarriage," she finished. Kurt's eyes became round as saucers. His mother had a miscarriage?

"Oh Lizzie, I'm so sorry," Pam said sympathetically. There was a moment during which Kurt suspected the two women may have been hugging.

"It's alright," Elizabeth sniffed. "At least it means Burt and I won't have to figure out how to tell Kurt he's going to be a big brother," she added.

"Much like you don't have to tell him he was almost a little brother?" Pam said.

"Don't remind me of my stupidity in high school Pamela," Elizabeth stated.

"As your best friend since freshman year, it's my job to do just that." The two women laughed and the sounds of footsteps picked up as they continued on their way, not taking a second glance even at the alleyway where Kurt was hidden.

High school stupidity? His mother had endured a teen pregnancy? Did his father know about this? He didn't want to go asking Burt questions about all these things because when Burt had agreed for Kurt to join the corporation, he made him promise he wouldn't use his position to find out things he didn't know. And Kurt hadn't found this out on purpose. But if Pamela Anderson was his mother's best friend from high school, why had he never met her?

As Kurt finally made his way out of the alleyway and started down the street in the opposite direction as his and Blaine's moms, questions began riddling his brain and he brought his wrist up to speak into a small communication device.

"Hey Fabray?" he said, communing over years of time.

"Read you Hummel, what can I do for you?" Quinn replied from the other side.

"Get me a fully detailed file on Blaine's mother Pamela Anderson. Not the famous one. It doesn't have anything to do with my actual missions but I've just overheard a conversation that's given me a gazillion questions."

"Oh?" Quinn stated and he could tell by the tone of her voice that one of her eyebrows was raised.

"Apparently, she and my mom, were high school best friends."

It was quiet on the other end for several long moments.

"Than why don't you already know Blaine?" came the reply finally.

"That is one question I'd like an answer to," Kurt said. Quinn promised to dig up whatever she could find on Blaine's mother and Kurt disconnected from communication for the time being. He hurried forward, noting the school building ahead and thinking quickly.

How was he supposed to talk to little Blaine without the teacher thinking he was a stranger? But jobs like this was why Kurt was good at what he did. It was why he was the head of the Travel Department in the New Directions core of G.L.E.E.

As he neared the building, Kurt pulled a small handheld device out of his bag and pointed it at the window. He knew that most schools had rules about strangers taking out the kids. If you weren't on their list, they wouldn't pass along the child so Kurt pressed a button on the device and while it would appear nothing happened, he was confident that little road block had been handled. He slipped the device back into his bag and cracked his neck.

"Showtime," Kurt said to himself as he marched forward and pulled the door to Blaine's classroom open.

"May I help you?" the elderly woman sitting at the desk and overseeing the children playing said as she looked up when he entered the room. Sitting on the desk in front of her was a clipboard with all the children's names and the person who was scheduled to pick them up that day. Kurt's sharp eyesight picked up his own name beside Blaine's and noted that his device had done the trick.

He offered the woman a smile and stuck out a hand to shake hers. "Hello, I'm Kurt Hummel. I'm Blaine's new babysitter," he told her.

The woman took his hand, looking slightly confused. "Pamela didn't mention Blaine had a new babysitter," she said.

Thinking quickly, Kurt said, "I work for the agency the Andersons use for babysitting. Blaine's former babysitter recently quit so they had to send in a replacement, which is me." He smiled at her. Thank God he knew enough about the Anderson family to know that James Anderson would have insisted on using a facility of caregivers rather than someone close to the family to watch their son. I wasn't Kurt's ideal choice and he would never do the same for his own children but Mr. Anderson didn't know a whole lot about loving your family. Not that he gathered anyway.

"I see," the teacher replied. She picked up the clipboard and was a little surprised to find Kurt's name next to Blaine's as she could have sworn it was his mother's earlier. "Huh," she said. "Well, you're a little early to be taking him home, but maybe that's a good thing because Blaine seems to be a little under the weather today."

She pointed to a corner where an adorable little boy with messy black curls sat quietly reading a book while the other kids were laughing, giggling, and playing rowdy games with each other. The child's skin was a bit on the pale side, which suggested he was definitely feeling ill.

"Pam said when she dropped him off she had wanted to keep him home but her husband wouldn't allow it," the teacher went on and Kurt whipped his head around. "She said Blaine had sported a fever this morning and suggested I let him sleep for the day."

Kurt glanced between the boy with the curls and the teacher and raised an eyebrow. "So why is he sitting in a corner reading and not sleeping?" he asked, putting on his concerned tone of voice.

"Because Blaine insisted he didn't want to sleep all day. That kid is stubborn as a mule sometimes," she laughed. "Determined to prove his independence. Blaine has already learned what most people don't until they're adults."

"What's that?" Kurt asked.

"How to take care of himself," she replied.

"You sound like the narrator from Matilda," Kurt stated, thankful that the movie had come out a few years before the current time. But he was also so good at his job now that it was very rare Kurt would slip up in time travel and mention something that didn't exist yet.

The teacher laughed. "I think you should be able to take him now. Mr. Anderson can't really say anything about the teacher sending him home," she added, nodding her head toward the corner where the boy sat.

Kurt carefully approached the little boy and knelt in front of him. Blaine did not look up from the book he was reading, entirely engrossed in the story. "Blaine?" he said softly and the child lifted his had to look at him. Kurt felt his heart squeeze. This little boy was the sweetest and most adorable looking child he had ever seen. The most striking thing about him were the honey-hazel orbs that looked back at him with that curiosity all small children seemed to never be void of. It broke Kurt's heart knowing this sweet child's life was going to be taken away from him in about a decade. "Hi Blaine, I'm Kurt. Your new babysitter," he said to the child.

"So she did it?" the boy said.

"Who did what Blaine?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shut his book and stood from the floor. "Mandy. She said last week she hated working for the agency. She said I was her favorite to babysit but she couldn't do it anymore. She said she was going to quit. I just thought she was being overdramatic because she was always being overdramatic."

Needless to say, Kurt was impressed. Not by the fact that his made up story of being Blaine's new babysitter could actually be corroborated but by the extent of the five year old's vocabulary skills. Blaine's file had mentioned that he was very intelligent and was set to take AP honors classes in his junior and senior years of high school. But he was amazed that Blaine was showing hints of his intelligence level at only five years of age. How many five year olds could pronounce 'overdramatic' let alone understand the meaning of the word.

"Your conversational skills are impressive for your age Blaine," Kurt told him with a small smile.

Blaine shrugged. "Got no time to be a little kid in my house," he said, using grammar more relevant to his age.

Kurt frowned. Something about that statement did not sit well with him.

"Your teacher said you weren't feeling well and that I could take you home. Would you like to go home Blaine?"

Blaine slid the book back on the shelf before running to grab his things. Kurt watched as he slipped his coat on and zipped it up all by himself before throwing his backpack on and grabbing a beanie. The little boy pulled the beanie down over his curls so far, it nearly covered his eyes. Kurt laughed and pulled it up a little bit for him when he ran back. Blaine smiled and held out his hand for Kurt to take.

"Normally," he said. "I wouldn't be this bundled up at this time of year but mommy insisted because I'm sick," he explained.

"Well, your mommy is smart," Kurt replied with a nod, taking the boy's hand. "Your teacher said you had a fever this morning. Best to sweat it out," he added. "Shall we get going then?" he asked.

Blaine gave his beanie clad head a nod and together, the two of them left the kindergarten building.


	3. The First Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Here is chapter three! And some conflict is introduced. Be ready for a wild web ride and make sure you pay close attention because this story will have a lot of time jumps in it.
> 
> I still haven't forgotten a small plot point that I intend to put in this story, which is more explanation on why Pam never helped Kurt and his dad after his mom died even if she wanted to. But because of the turn taken in this chapter, the point at which that will come up, has been pushed back because the chapter has been pushed back.
> 
> Anyway, as always, comments and kudos make me smile! Enjoy!

If there was one thing that Kurt had forgotten to think of, it was how they were going to get into the house. And Blaine's house was not just some moderate two story family home. No. The place looked like it could have its own zip code. Kurt was astounded that this huge mansion like home housed a small family of four and he wondered if Blaine was an expert at playing hide and seek in a house like this one.

However, he realized just how lonely it could be to be a small child in a family with a house this size. Still, Kurt got the impression that none of it seemed to bother Blaine. The child was already highly independent apparently and he didn't seem to be shy at all. Kurt felt maybe this job might be easier than he was anticipating and he wondered how the small boy could walk so fast as he felt a tug on his hand while they were walking up what felt to be a mile long drive. Blaine's sturdy little five year old legs appeared to be a master of the power walk.

"Come on, come on," he pleaded in the manner of an excited but impatient child. It was the first hint Kurt got so far that Blaine really was a small child and not a much more sophisticated older adult.

He chuckled and gave his head a short shake. "What's the rush Blaine?" he asked.

The little boy came to a halt and turned to look at him. He opened his mouth to respond but his stomach did all the talking instead, growling loud enough for them both to hear and Blaine burst into giggles.

"Well, that says a lot," Kurt said. "I guess you're hungry then."

Blaine nodded and returned to pulling Kurt up the drive. "You won't have to stay long today," he said suddenly. "Mommy's coming home after her time with Miss. Lizzie."

His words nearly brought Kurt to a second halt. Miss. Lizzie? Blaine knew his mother? Or at least knew of her? Why didn't Kurt ever know about Pam or Blaine? Did Blaine ever know about him? There were so many questions running through Kurt's mind, he didn't realize they had reached the house and Blaine had lead him around the back to a sliding glass door that was opened to the back patio. These were all questions Kurt needed answers to.

Elizabeth Hummel and Pamela Anderson had apparently been very good friends. But Kurt had never known about Pam, unless he had known her before he could remember. Which may have been a possibility now that he thought about.

Kurt remembered a picture that had been on the end of the mantle when he was growing up. A picture that Burt had never had the heart to take down because of the moment it commemorated. He hadn't thought anything of it at the time but now that he remembered, there was a day he had asked his dad who the unidentified woman in the picture was. She was standing beside Burt as they stood smiling at the bedside of Elizabeth who was holding a small bundle in her arms. It had been taken not long after Kurt had been born. Now that he thought about it, that woman had to have been Pam Anderson.

"Kurt?" Blaine's little voice drew him from his thoughts and he looked back to the small child only to realize he was standing inside the house. His backpack and jacket were on the floor but the beanie was still on his head and in his hand was a tissue. Kurt noted for the first time how red the child's nose was.

"Coming buddy," he said, snapping out of his reverie and heading into the house, pulling the sliding glass door shut behind him.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked as he climbed onto a stool at the kitchen counter and holy crap it was a large kitchen. Kurt felt like his entire childhood home alone could have fit comfortably in Blaine's kitchen.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Kurt asked, nodding his head and moving toward the fridge to see about a snack for Blaine.

The little boy shrugged and wiped his nose with the tissue. "You got all quiet and funny after I told you about mommy and Miss. Lizzie," he said nonchalantly.

Kurt found an apple and searched for plates and knives before proceeding to cut the fruit up into the sections for the little boy.

"What do you know about Miss. Lizzie Blaine?" he asked.

Again the child shrugged. "That she's mommy's best friend from high school," he said.

"Is that all?"

Blaine shook his head. "She has a son about a year older than me but I don't know his name and I've never met him."

This took Kurt by surprise. If Pam and his mother had been such good friends, why had he and Blaine never met?

"How come you have never met him?"

Blaine gave another shrug. "Daddy says he doesn't want me playing with an ill raised child," he said.

Kurt very nearly froze at the boy's words. An ill raised child? Mr. Anderson thought Kurt was an ill raised child? Just because his parents were working class didn't mean Kurt was any less well raised than Blaine was. This little boy was smart, adorable, innocent for sure, and his father was filling his head with dirty brainwashing tools from a young age. Kurt didn't know if Blaine believed any of it but he if he did, it was no doubt going to have an impact on the way the child thought and acted in the future. It was sad because Kurt thought Blaine was a sweet little boy. He had to make sure that never changed.

"Why does your daddy think he's an ill raised child?" Kurt asked, curious as to what the answer would be. He set the plate of apple slices down in front of him and leaned on the counter.

Blaine shrugged yet again. "Because he says Miss. Lizzie's husband doesn't have a proper job."

Kurt wanted to spit out how being a mechanic was a proper job but he knew he couldn't. Blaine would question how he knew about Burt's profession and now was not the time to start preparing the child for what Kurt was actually here for. It might have been a great imagination inducing discovery but Kurt had to ease himself into the situation. He still couldn't just spring it on him.

It was at that moment that his watch began to beep and Blaine looked at him from where he was munching on an apple slice.

"What's that?" he asked curiously, pointing one little finger to the beeping watch.

"It's an alarm," Kurt responded smoothly, already having thought ahead in just such a case. "Will you be alright if I step out a few moments?"

Blaine looked ready to ask why but decided against it and nodded his head. Kurt quickly poured him a glass of milk before patting the boy on the head and slipping out to the backyard.

"What's up Fabray?" he asked quickly, speaking into the watch.

"We have a situation," she replied. "Where are you?"

Kurt furrowed his brow. "I'm at the Anderson home with five year old Blaine," he responded. "What kind of situation?"

There was a brief moment of silence punctuated by the distant sound of tap-tapping that suggested Quinn was tapping away at her computer, possibly looking up something or breaking down firewalls.

"It's Smythe," she stated.

Kurt narrowed his eyes. He shot a quick glance at Blaine who was drinking from his milk. "What about Smythe?" he asked.

There was another short pause before Quinn let out a sigh. "According to our informant contact at the Warbler core, he departed to retrieve Blaine shortly after you did." Kurt's eyes became very round as he realized the direction this may be headed in.

"And?" he prompted.

She sighed again. "And he followed his own protocol, bringing back a very bewildered fifteen year old Blaine," she told him.

Kurt smacked a hand to his forehead and groaned. This is what he was afraid of. Because of Smythe's actions, there were now two Blaines in the universe. One fifteen year old in present time, having been pulled from the brink of death so to speak. And one innocent but highly intelligent five year old who knew nothing of his future sitting in the house behind him drinking milk.

"That's not the worst part," Quinn said.

"No?" Kurt questioned, fearful for what this might mean. He knew now that he had to play this carefully, from both points in time. Smythe's one greedy move had complicated a well thought out mission. It was up to Kurt to fix it.

"After he brought him back, and subsequently attempted to have sex with him, Blaine kneed him in the groin and ran."

Kurt froze momentarily as the magnitude of the situation hit him like a tidal wave.

"Are you telling me, that there is a fifteen year old boy from 2009 running around the present day?" he asked.

There was a long pause before she replied.

"Yes."

That one single solitary word sent a cold chill up Kurt's spine and he knew this was the biggest disaster to have ever happened for G.L.E.E. as a whole. Thankfully, if headquarters got wind of this incident, it would be on Smythe and the Warblers' heads, not him and New Directions. But he also didn't want that to happen because the rest of the core were great people and they didn't deserve the threat of losing their positions because their Head of Operations broke G.L.E.E. code and conduct. No doubt if it got out, Smythe would attempt to buy his innocence or clearance. Buy his way out so to speak.

"Those poor Warblers," he said.

He knew it would be up to him to fix this mess. And he was going to have to do it as eloquently as he could. The last thing he wanted was for HQ to step in and handle the mission themselves. Likely, they would declare after the fact, that Blaine should remain dead, take the boy back to his own timeline, and watch to make sure he lost his life.

A shudder crept up Kurt's spine at the very thought. Headquarters was scary the way they worked. Their number one solution to solving these kinds of situations was to return everything to its original state. Convincing Blaine to let himself be killed after he had learned how and when he was supposed to die would be easier said than done.

Kurt only prayed Sebastian had taken Blaine before Kurt met him. Approaching him in the present would be much easier if he was still running on the timeline where Kurt was not his babysitter on this day.

"I can't leave until Mrs. Anderson comes home, but I'll start my search for him as soon as I get back," he told Quinn.

"Okay Hummel. I hope you won't be too long. You know how serious a disaster of this magnitude will be," she responded.

"I know Fabray. I know," he said.

Kurt ended the communication and slipped back into the house rubbing his temples.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked. He was still sitting quietly at the counter. The apple slices and milk were all gone but Blaine was a very obedient child it appeared and Kurt was thankful he wouldn't have to run through the house trying to find him.

"An issue just arose at work," he said. "It's something I'm going to have to take care of when I go back."

Blaine looked at him for a moment. "Babysitting agencies have issues?" he asked.

Kurt had to think fast on how he was going to get around this little suspicious hurdle.

"We had a client run away when under our care," he said after a moment. "They're calling us all in to help search for him."

He was impressed with his own answer because it wasn't a lie really at all. But it would also be a plausible situation for a babysitting agency to have to face.

"Do you have to go?" Blaine asked and Kurt almost smiled when he heard the disappointment in the child's voice at the thought of him leaving. He moved closer and gently stroked the boy's beanie clad head.

"I'm not leaving you home alone. Yes, it's an urgent matter but no babysitter should ever leave the child alone," he told him. "I will have to leave when your mom comes home though," he added.

Blaine nodded. The child slid down off the stool and wrapped his arms around Kurt as high as he could reach them. Kurt was surprised by the action but hugged the child back. There was no doubt in his mind that he was already growing very fond of this boy.

"Can I go watch tv?" Blaine asked as he pulled away.

"Sure buddy. Nothing inappropriate for a five year old though okay?" Kurt responded.

He was aware that he was acting like his father, calling Blaine buddy but he was already developing an attachment to him.

"Can I watch Star Wars?" Blaine asked. Kurt was a little bit stunned by the question. He wasn't opposed but the Star Wars universe was a bit complex for someone Blaine's age to really get a grip on.

When Kurt didn't respond right away, Blaine hastened to explain. "When Cooper is home, I don't even get the chance to watch cartoons let alone something more grown up. If I wanna watch it, then he's against it."

Cooper. Cooper. Who was Cooper again? Kurt wracked his brain. Oh right. Blaine's much older brother.

"He says he should always have priority over what we watch on tv and then he puts on something he knows I can't watch," Blaine pouted.

Kurt frowned. That was no way for an older brother to treat their younger sibling. "Why don't you just go in another room?" he asked.

"Because at those times, my mommy is watching the main television and daddy, if he's home, is watching the one in my parents' bedroom. I'm not allowed in the other rooms with televisions. Cooper has a tv in his room but he likes to use mine just so I can't," Blaine explained.

Well this was highly stupid and ridiculous in Kurt's opinion. He made it a point to track down Cooper Anderson in the present and ask him why he was such a horrible older brother. If he had any compassion for his younger sibling, Blaine's death would make him feel guilty.

"You can watch Star Wars. In the living room though. Your teacher said your mom was going to pick you up today so I want to make sure she sees you're safe and sound at home when she gets here," he told him. Kurt knew that the teacher had not actually said as much to him but he could tell by the look on her fact that she was confused as to why the name of the person picking Blaine up that day seemed to not be the one she'd had earlier. "I'm just going to run to the restroom real quick, okay?"

Blaine nodded and scampered into the living room to watch Star Wars. Kurt found himself a room far enough away that Blaine wouldn't hear him but not so far that he couldn't get to the boy quickly if he needed to.

"Fabray," he said into his watch.

"Read you Hummel, what do you need?" Quinn replied immediately.

"Track down Blaine's older brother Cooper. I need to have words with him in the present."

"Roger that boss," she said.

"Thank you."

For the third time during the trip, Kurt ended the contact. He went into the living room to join Blaine on the couch. The boy had started with Episode IV.

Some time later, when the movie was almost over with Blaine starting to get ready to switch it out with Episode V, the front door opened and a frantic looking Pam Anderson entered the house.

"Oh Blaine thank goodness!" she cried, rushing to her son and hugging him close. "Your teacher said your babysitter had picked you up and I got really scared you'd been kidnapped because I wasn't aware anyone but me thought they were picking you up today." She kept hold of the small boy who hugged his mom back.

Kurt stood from the couch. "I'm terribly sorry Mrs. Anderson," he said smoothly. "The agency didn't inform me you would be picking him up yourself."

The woman stood up and Kurt got a better look at her than what he'd seen from the alley. She was a pretty woman and he could tell where Blaine looked a lot like his mom.

"I'm sorry. That was my fault. I forgot to inform them I didn't need a sitter to pick Blaine up today," she said. "But I don't know who you are. Where is Mandy?"

Kurt stuck his hand out for a shake with the woman. "My apologies. Mandy doesn't work for the agency anymore. She quit recently from what I was told. It was kind of sudden so they had to find someone on short notice. Here I am." He smiled at her as she shook his hand.

"You look familiar. Do I know you?" she asked and Kurt realized that she could probably see the six year old Kurt in him.

"I don't think so," he said. "I'm new to the area. It's likely I won't become Blaine's new regular babysitter but he's a good kid so I'm sure whomever does won't have much trouble with him at all," he stated, knowing he needed some sort of explanation for why he wouldn't continue to be Blaine's babysitter after this day. He could see that Blaine was looking at him in disappointment.

"But I really like you," the small boy said. Both Mrs. Anderson and Kurt turned to look at him.

Kurt offered the child a smile. "I know Blaine but I'm actually one of the traveling sitters. So I don't do permanent jobs."

"I heard about that," Mrs. Anderson said. "The traveling sitters take temp positions in and around the county," she finished with a nod.

"We're usually the ones they call in on short notice," Kurt confirmed, flabbergasted by how well he seemed to be doing with providing information that could be corroborated. "Well, I really must be going."

Blaine slid off the couch and ran over to Kurt, hugging him the same way he had in the kitchen earlier. Kurt again stroked his beanie clad head.

"I'll miss you," the little boy said and sniffed. Kurt couldn't tell if it was because he was crying or because he was sick.

"I'll miss you too Blaine. But we'll see each other again," he said, kneeling so he could be at the child's level and hug him properly.

"Promise?" Blaine replied.

"Promise," Kurt confirmed and hugged him all the tighter.

After a few moments of hugging goodbye, Kurt stood up again. He shook Mrs. Anderson's hand one more time. "Make sure he gets over that flu," he stated with a small smile. "I'll let myself out the back."

With one more wave goodbye, Kurt left through the kitchen and sliding glass door they had entered from and maneuvered his way into the dense trees lining the property.

It wasn't until he was far enough in that he couldn't see the house very well that Kurt hit the return button on his watch and slowly, he vanished from the Anderson property.


	4. The Search Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This chapter could have been posted like two days ago but I got distracted when writing it and I know it's kind of a late moment for me to be posting on the PST side of things, but I wanted to make sure I didn't just leave the chapter hanging so here is chapter four!
> 
> Comments and kudos make me smile!

Materializing back in the travel office of New Directions core, Kurt's first action was to make right for the computers that Quinn had been working on. She was still standing in the room of course and the sky outside the building was beginning to darken which marked the end of the work day traditionally for anyone working for G.L.E.E. But Kurt had no intentions of retreating to his basement apartment any time soon. There was a fifteen year old boy from a different time period running around somewhere and probably scared out of his mind. Not to mention he had loads of questions. About Pam Anderson and his mother and why Blaine knew about him but he had never known about Blaine. And also, finding Cooper Anderson and making sure the man had at least an ounce of remorse for how he treated his brother now that Blaine was dead.

"How bad is it?" he spit out to Quinn, not looking up as he typed away on his computer to look into the situation himself.

The blonde let out a sigh. "Bad," she replied. "It appears that Smythe hacked the core system files." Kurt finally looked up from his computer screen.

"You mean the mass database in headquarters?" he asked, astounded that anyone would do such a thing. Quinn nodded her head and Kurt's naturally pale skin paled even further. "That means if he corrupted Blaine's file, the inaccurate data could send a mass virus out to all the systems in every G.L.E.E. sector!" he stated.

There was a silence between them as it dawned on them what a mass destruction situation they were bordering on and it could only mean one thing.

"Oh my God," Quinn stated after moments of silence.

"Smythe doesn't want to control G.L.E.E.," Kurt added, filling in the rest of her thought himself.

"He wants to destroy it," Quinn finished for him, turning to face Kurt as both of them came to that very same conclusion.

A slow clap filled the room, coming from neither Kurt nor Quinn and they both turned around to find an unwanted and unexpected visitor standing in their office.

"Well done! Can't say I expected my master plot to be discovered by the pasty faced dough boy and Malibu Barbie." Kurt and Quinn glanced at each other. "I must say though, I'm impressed."

Sebastian Smythe was every bit as nasty looking as he sounded. If not for the fact that he was such a git and self-loving prick, he would have been quite attractive. Except for his obnoxious CW hair and smirky meerkat face. He was tall and lanky with hair a similar shade to Kurt's own chestnut locks. He had a natural appearance of always up to mischief and he usually wore pressed suits. He stood now, leaning against the doorway with his feet crossed and one hand in his pocket. A sly grin was plastered on the man's face and he presented himself with an air that suggested he was allowed to be there. Of course Smythe thought he was allowed to be anywhere without invitation.

Seeing as neither Kurt nor Quinn had replied to his off-hand and insulting comment, he took that as an invitation to enter the room and take it in with his critical eye.

"Not bad New Directions. Your travel office is quite impressive," he stated, raising a hand to wipe a white glove clad finger across the top of a computer and examining it for signs of dust. "Though The Warblers still have the more expensive and exquisite taste. Oh that's right I forgot. You lame-o Lim-os don't have the benefactors we do. I guess your credibility isn't as up to par as ours." He snickered and shrugged like the comment was meant to be a nonchalant throw away joke card.

"How did you get in here?" Kurt managed to finally spit out. He straightened up and stood tall, arms crossed over his chest and his trademark bitch glare written across his face.

Sebastian turned his attention back to the two people in the room. "It's simple really," he stated, approaching the two of them and leaning in so close to the Kurt the latter could feel his breath on his face and decided it was not a very pleasant smell.

"What have you been blowing?" he grit out before Sebastian could finish his response to his first question.

"First, I think you mean who have I been blowing," the younger man stated with a wink. "And secondly, wouldn't you like to know?" He chuckled again and pulled back from his invasion of Kurt's personal space. The pale man and his colleague exchanged grimaces.

"I'm not interested in sex life exploitation," Kurt dead panned and Quinn stared at him in surprise. It was clear his comment was not one she had expected to come out of his mouth.

Before Sebastian could reply — or retort more likely — footsteps could be heard in the corridor and just moments later, a big guy with a Mohawk came rushing into the room.

"We got a hit!" he yelled before he noted that Kurt and Quinn were both looking at him with a fearful sort of expression. Sebastian turned his head as slowly as a snake might to gaze at the guy with a hint of curiosity glinting in his eyes. It was clear he wanted to know what they had a hit on.

"Puckerman," Kurt stated, schooling his features and looking toward the big guy who was questioning the scene he had just barged in on. "This is Mr. Sebastian Smythe, Head of The Warblers core." The smirky meerkat man graced the introduction with a half-grin, half-grimace expression in the direction of the man called Puckerman.

But the introduction was all Puckerman needed to be made aware of the fact that Smythe was the very person they didn't want to share any of their information on Blaine with. They didn't particularly want Smythe catching on to the fact that they were trying to undo what he had done. It would give him all the more reason to play adversary.

"Got a hit on what?" The meerkat man practically purred.

"The location of the culprit we have been tracking," Puckerman answered smoothly. He was sugar coating the information but in a way that Sebastian would not be able to read him the way Kurt and Quinn would.

Noah "Puck" Puckerman was the Head of the Tracker Department for the New Directions core. They were responsible for jobs such as this. Tracking the escape of someone brought from another time period. Most of the time, sensible sectors like New Directions made sure anyone they brought back to the present was well groomed for what they were about to face. But other times, people slipped through the cracks and when they ran, it was the trackers' job to hunt them down as quickly as possible.

"Great, where?" Kurt asked. Smythe was listening intently for any hint as to who this culprit was and anything that may lead him to be able to make The Warblers look good and New Directions look bad by being the first to reel it in.

Puck glanced from Kurt and Quinn to Sebastian and back to Kurt and Quinn again before replying with the best answer they could hope to hear. Well, except for Sebastian anyway.

"I sent the location to your email," he said. Kurt and Quinn were relieved because they knew Sebastian would try to get his foot in the door. The meerkat man scowled.

All three of the New Directions core members watched as he stomped across the room and shoved past Puck in the doorway. "This isn't over New Directions," he ground out. "Soon, I will be climbing to the top of the corporate ladder and when I do, the entire G.L.E.E. corporation will be abolished from the inside out." He let out a sinister chuckle and disappeared from sight as he exited the room and stomped off down the hallway.

Kurt waited a good fifteen minutes before opening his email. He scanned the message from Puck quickly before lifting his head.

"W L," he said with a raised eyebrow. "West Lima?" he questioned.

Quinn shook her head and came around to read the email over Kurt's shoulder. It was short and to the point.

"I don't understand," she said, speaking for the first time since before Sebastian had intruded. "What would he be doing in the abandoned part of Lima, Ohio? Where could he hide?"

Kurt thought for a moment. "The only building there that's still standing," he said.

"Scandals?" Puck questioned. Kurt nodded his head. It was strange that the only building in all of West Lima that still stood was an old gay bar called Scandals. How it had withstood the destruction when West Lima was subjected to attacks during the mid-United States War, was anyone's guess. But why anyone would go to West Lima to begin with was even more confusing. For one thing, it was said to be swarming with radioactive pollution but people thought that was unlikely since the polluted air would have easily reached the rest of Lima and surrounding cities. Whatever the matter, West Lima was nowhere near inhabitable these days.

Kurt took the moment to look things up on the computer. "Blaine was gay, as we know from the case profile," he said after the moment. "Scandals was a safe place for gays to run to, even if as a teenager you needed a fake ID to get in. West Lima was still standing in 2009. So it makes sense why he would run there," he finished.

Quinn nodded her head in understanding. The current location of the escapee was definitely fitting of his profile. Though she could not imagine what his reaction might be to what had become of West Lima in the years since his death.

"Do you want me to send a team after him?" Puck asked. Kurt looked up again. After a moment, he shook his head.

"That's not my call," he told him, knowing Puck knew very well that it was in Artie's hands, not his.

"But it's your case Hummel," Puck replied.

Kurt shook his head a second time. "Doesn't matter. Even if I said yes, Abrams would still have to give his seal of approval."

Puck was quiet for a moment. "Does that mean you would say no?" he asked in surprise. He had thought that Kurt would want the boy brought back immediately but apparently, this was not the direction Kurt wanted to go in with the case. Or the search and rescue mission.

The pale man let out a sigh and stood up straight, coming back around the computer and noting it was now definitely after work hours and they all should be heading to their apartments. He knew Artie would likely already have left his office so the whole thing would need to wait until morning anyway, unless Puck had every intention of stopping by Artie's apartment on his way to his own. But he knew even Puck wouldn't go that far.

"Blaine won't stay long after he realizes there are no resources for him to live there," he finally said. "He's going to run again soon. It's best to keep tracking his location for a bit to see if it develops a pattern. Then, maybe we can get one step ahead of him and be waiting for him at another location," he explained. "Besides, it's after work hours and Abrams has most likely retired for the night so you'll have to talk to him first thing in the morning. If he asks my opinion, I just gave it to you."

"Why can't you come with and give it yourself?" Puck asked.

Kurt let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He was tired and just wanted to sleep but knew that like many nights before he would likely be up working late when everyone else had turned in for the night.

"Because Puck," Kurt said, resorting to the man's nickname. "My job is in the past." He looked between the two of them. "You guys try and get Blaine here in the present day. I'll try and stop Sebastian's mistake from the past. But that's going to take time because I need to establish a relationship with Blaine first," he stated.

"Are you going back to five year old Blaine tomorrow?" Quinn asked.

Kurt shook his head. "No. I'm jumping forward a couple years to seven," he said. "Did you track down Cooper Anderson?" he asked.

It was Quinn's turn to shake her head. "Not yet." She turned to look at Puck. "But I'm sure the tracking team wouldn't mind locating him tomorrow," she added.

Puck nodded his head. "That's our job Fabray. Consider it done. Who is Cooper Anderson?" he asked.

"Blaine's older brother," Kurt stated. "He wasn't the best older brother to Blaine. I want to make sure he harbors remorse at all. Because if he doesn't, I'd like to give him a good old fashioned smack upside the head."

Puck and Quinn both burst out laughing because that was certainly something the two of them would pay big money to see. Kurt committing physical violence was completely unheard but if he was seriously considering it, the situation must be pretty bad.

"It's not funny," Kurt stated and normally, he might be cracking a smile but at this point, he was dead serious. "If we're going to save Blaine's life and bring him here to the present day, he needs to have a chance of having a relationship with his brother." Puck's and Quinn's chuckles resided and they looked at each other before glancing back at Kurt as he went on. "Blaine's going to need something familiar to tie him down and keep him sane here," he added. "His parents are not a good option. Particularly because I get the sense his father wasn't the best and I do not want to go to Pam Anderson."

Puck was a bit confused. "Why not? Wouldn't his mother be the best choice?" he asked.

It was Quinn who answered first. "It turns out Blaine's mom was Kurt's mom's best friend," she stated. "She'd no doubt know who Kurt is easily."

Kurt was nodding. "Not to mention, I met her when she came home just before I came back," he stated. "I'm pretty sure she won't forget that and explaining how the whole thing was a mission to save her son's life is not a conversation I want to have with her. Not now at least," he explained.

"So this Cooper doesn't know you then?" Puck questioned. Kurt shook his head. "Gotcha."

Quinn chose that moment to yawn and the action was contagious as Puck followed suit and even though Kurt was extremely exhausted, he forced himself to resist the yawn. He might leave the lab of the travel office but he didn't intend on going back to his apartment. Not yet.

"You two should turn in. It's after hours," he said to the two of them, grabbing the physical copy of Blaine's file and moving to start shutting things down for the night.

"What about you?" Quinn asked.

"I'll be fine. I'm going to stay up in my office for a while longer. Not sleepy."

Quinn gave him a knowing look. "Kurt," she said, no longer feeling she needed to refer to him by Hummel now that work hours were officially up. "I know you. You're extremely exhausted just like you are every night and yet, you force yourself to stay awake, working on cases. Even if they have nothing to do with you."

Puck raised an eyebrow. "Is this true Hummel?" he asked.

Kurt let out a sigh and ran a hand over his face. "I'm the head of the department. It's my job to pack up last," he said resolutely.

The Mohawk man shook his head. "No. It's Abrams' job to pack up last and you know as well as I do he's already turned in for the night. You need sleep Hummel. I don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out."

"Fine," Kurt said. "If I take the file down and do the work in my bed will that appease you?"

"Not entirely," Quinn stated.

"But it would help," Puck added.

"Done," Kurt said with a sigh. He shut down the power for the night then and started out of the room. "Let's get out of here."

The three of them walked in silence through the building, Kurt with Blaine's file tucked under his arm and leading the way. When they reached the elevator to the basement, the pale man swiped his identification badge and the doors slid open. He walked into the car, followed by Quinn and Puck.

The descent down to the massive basement that housed full size apartments for each and every employee of the New Directions core seemed to take a lot longer than usual. Kurt wasn't sure if it was because he was traveling with two co-workers this time or just because he felt so defeated in more ways than one. There was a lot on his mind, much of which had nothing to do with the mountain of cases they were trying to get through and everything to do with two people. Blaine Anderson and Sebastian Smythe.

The elevator dinged and slid open on the basement floor. It was really only when they touched the basement floor that work epic dissolved completely to be replaced by the actual people behind the dedicated employees of G.L.E.E. As they stepped off, Puck slid his hand into Quinn's.

"We'll see you tomorrow Kurt," he said with a nod. Quinn offered him a smile before the couple turned left and headed down the corridor to their family apartment they shared with their daughter Beth.

"See you tomorrow," Kurt replied after them before proceeding down the corridor in front of him, pulling out his apartment key.

Kurt's apartment was probably the biggest reflection of who he actually was anyone could find. The interior was lavishly and tastefully decorated and he had one of the two floor loft suites of the employee apartments, mostly because he was the head of a department. Everyone had a very nice and well to do apartment but the higher your position, the more expensive the standard was. Kurt could have decorated any of the apartments just as lavishly as this one but he wasn't complaining.

His television was a flatscreen that was hanging on a wall that was a twenty-four-seven holographic designed to depict the current outside sky, including temperature, atmosphere, and time of day as if you were peering out through floor to ceiling windows.

The entire apartment, save for the bedroom loft, two bathrooms, and kitchen had polished wood floors. The bedroom loft was covered with a soft lush cream carpet. The bathrooms and kitchen were tiled floor. The furniture was all in lush creams with the living room couches and armchairs upholstered in cream leather. They were accompanied by dark wood elegant side tables and a glass coffee table.

Considering the second floor was just a loft for Kurt's bed, two night tables, an ensuite bathroom, and walk-in closet, you had a clear view of the queen sized bed from the bottom floor.

All and all, Kurt's apartment was reminiscent of a New York City style penthouse and that had been exactly what he was going for. The basement was the height of two floors to provide room for the two story apartments. Another of which belonged to Artie. Artie's though was one of the few that was more extravagant than Kurt's if only because he was the boss man. He actually had an elevator in his apartment though it had been installed specifically because of him being in a wheelchair. When Will Schuester had lived there, there had been no elevator. Just the stairs.

Kurt kicked off his shoes at the door and went to pour himself a glass of wine before taking Blaine's file and climbing the stairs to his bed. He was in for a long night. At least this time if he fell asleep while working, he'd already be in bed.


	5. The Second Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> I know it's been ages since I actually updated this story and the truth is the chapter was half written for the longest time. I just, never went back to it until now. :( Sorry! The good news is, I am on a computer again. So that makes it all the more easier! I hope I haven't lost my readers. A part of the reason I'm not writing as much anymore is that while I still love Klaine and Chris and Darren, I'm over my obsessive phase so I can enjoy other things again now. But I will do my best to keep going with things!
> 
> Anyway, this second meeting doesn't exactly go as planned. You'll see! Might be a bit of a delay for Kurt here. Again, sorry to keep you guys waiting and I hope for those of you still with me, it was worth the wait!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos make me smile!

The persistent buzzing sound that accompanied Kurt’s morning alarm blared in the man’s ear and he suddenly sat up, blinking his eyes a few times and looking down to the living room where the holographic wall showed the day to be bright and sunny for once. Wait, already bright and sunny? What time was it? Kurt glanced at a digital clock that was embedded directly in his head board and nearly leapt out of his skin. It was almost noon, which meant he had missed almost half a day of work and was completely behind! How in the world had he not managed to hear his alarm blaring for several hours? 

In his defense, the pale man was on one of his extremely exhausted fall asleep with your head in the profile runs but even then, he always managed to make it to work on time.

He glanced down at himself as he slid out of the bed, intending to make himself some coffee at least before he dove right back into the case. He had fallen asleep in yesterday’s ensemble and even though he didn’t have much time for fashion these days, he was not going to go to work with the day before wrinkled look. Kurt ran a hand over his face, knowing that his hair was likely askew and not looking forward to wasting even more time trying to make it look presentable. He let out a groan and moved into his walk-in closet to start with clothes, momentarily forgetting all about the coffee.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” came a sudden voice and Kurt turned his head to see Quinn staring out at him from a monitor he had in his walk-in that connected him to the offices above. It was his way to get his update before he got to work so that he could just go right to work.

“Why the hell did you let me sleep so long?” were the first words out of his mouth. Kurt cringed at his own irritation.

Quinn, however, didn’t look phased. “The whole office agreed you needed the sleep,” she stated nonchalantly.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. “Even Abrams?” he asked and she nodded. “So you just let my alarm blare for several hours to wake me whenever it managed to wake me?” he asked in an incredulous tone of voice.

She shook her head. “No. We had it reset for a later time from the building’s master computer.” Kurt frowned at her.

“I really hate it when you guys control my personal amenities sometimes,” he said flatly.

Quinn shrugged. “Duty calls.”

Again, the pale man raised an eyebrow as he hunted down his clothes for the day. “My sleep schedule is not your duty.”

“It is when we all know you don’t even get four hours a night,” she told him. “It’s unhealthy to lack sleep Kurt.” Kurt rolled his eyes, choosing not to respond to her as he left the closet and moved to his bathroom to clean-up. “You know as well as I do we need a lot of sleep!”

“So do the AR people!” Kurt shouted from the bathroom. “But you don’t reset Santana’s alarm!”

There was a spell of silence, during which if Kurt didn’t know Quinn well enough, he would have thought he had effectively shut her up.

“Santana Lopez has never run on sleep,” she stated, ending the spell just as he had predicted.

“I don’t think sex is a viable alternative,” Kurt deadpanned, coming back into his closet now fully changed and running a comb through his bedhead.

A small smirk slid onto Quinn’s face. “You’d think differently if you were getting any.”

The room fell quiet and Kurt froze in his motions. Quinn had managed to do something very, very rare. She had stunned him into complete stillness. Found a remark he didn’t have a sassy retort for.

The sad truth was that she was right. Kurt wasn’t sleeping with anyone at the present time. He was single and ready to mingle, except without the mingling part. Kurt’s focus was his job and a lot of the time, he didn’t really pay much attention to the fact that he wasn’t in a relationship. Neither of the two short-lived relationships he had been in had gone very well and so he wasn’t really keen on trying again. At the same time, lack of sex tended to make Kurt a bit of a bitch. He was a bit of a bitch anyway, but not getting any, made it worse. Sometimes, he would leave early, if only to spend time in bed, tending to those needs but self-given hand jobs could only sustain you for so long and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t craving the real thing. The issue was, Kurt wasn’t the type to do one-night stands. He didn’t fuck and run like Puck used to. That wasn’t what the experience was about for him. And this all came because of a conversation he’d had with his dad.

Burt Hummel had given his son the one piece of advice that was probably the most important thing Kurt had ever been taught by anyone.

You matter.

Kurt had always taken that advice to heart and was very careful not to get involved with anyone who just wanted a hook up. Things like that needed to have meaning to him and he was beginning to wonder if he was going to find someone else who cared about that in the same way he did.

Kurt had been in two relationships in his life and neither had turned out to be the satisfactory dream come true everyone looks for. The first, had been with a guy named Chandler. Chandler had seemed sweet and happy and kind of excitable when Kurt had first met him. He’d always send him cheesy pickup lines that while they were cheesy, made Kurt feel good about himself. But the happiness over it all had been short-lived. Kurt very quickly started to notice that Chandler was the clingy type. He wasn’t the kind that was controlling and needed to know where Kurt was at all times, but the kind who didn’t really seem to know what the meaning of personal space was. He would text and call Kurt constantly at all hours of the day. Mostly for pointless reasons like to ask what he was doing, only to repeat the question not ten minutes later. Kurt’s irritation with Chandler grew quickly and he cut things off before he dug himself into a hole.

Kurt’s second relationship was with a guy named Adam. Adam was British, in America on Visa for school and hoping to stay in the country afterward. He was kind of refreshing with how much space he gave Kurt. And he was nice. A little too nice. The kind of nice that suggests someone is too good to be true. Which he was. The moment Kurt had started to branch out and make friends with other guys – strictly friendships – Adam would get testy with him. There were times he asked if Kurt thought the new friend was cuter than him and that was why he was hanging out with them. In the end, Kurt concluded that Adam was paranoid but it wasn’t until one particular situation that finally prompted him to end the relationship.

It was all because of Elliott. Elliott. A smile crossed Kurt’s face at the thought of him. He was still in contact with Elliott, the one gay friend he’d made that didn’t go running for the hills when Adam came around asking questions.

Adam had been convinced that Elliott was trying to steal Kurt from him. And Elliott was not shy about admitting that he thought Kurt was cute. But the both of them could not stress enough that neither of them had romantic feelings for the other. Kurt had confided in Elliott because he was so much more confident that Kurt felt he was himself and he kind of looked up to him. He was always asking Elliott for advice but neither of them had ever been attracted to each other that way. You could think a guy was cute and not actually be attracted to them. Adam didn’t think so though apparently.

It lead to the two of them getting into a huge argument and that was it. Kurt was done with him and about to say as much when Adam broke things off first. Kurt hadn’t seen or heard from him since and the last he knew, the Brit had gone back to England. Good riddance. Kurt didn’t need that kind of toxicity in his life.

“You have your coffee yet?” Kurt jumped at the sound of Quinn’s voice, only just at that moment realizing he had gravitated to his kitchen, where he had a second office connected monitor. “Whoa, didn’t realize you had left planet Earth space cadet,” the blonde said playfully when he jumped.

Kurt gave her a critical eye. “Very funny Fabray,” he said. He let out a sigh. “I was…” he started but trailed off.

“Lost in translation?” she concluded. “I get it. I’m sorry,” she went on. “Every time someone brings up your intimate life, you go to that place.”

Kurt looked at her. Quinn was one of the people who spent the most time around him these days, with them both working in the travel office. It always amazed him how she could read him like a book now, when once upon a time, the two of them would have never even traveled in the same social circle.

“Can I tell you something?” she said after another moment as Kurt was pouring his coffee. He nodded, not really trusting his voice at the moment because of how worked up he was in just seconds.

She looked at him for a second. “Word on the timeline is that Lopez brought the case forth because she’s playing matchmaker,” she said.

The pale man jerked his head up. “What?!” he said astounded. Not that Kurt would put this past Santana but of all reasons to give him a case…

He shook his head harshly. “What gives you that idea?” he asked, trying to sound like he didn’t believe it for a second. But again, she could read him like a book and knew very well he was way more interested than he was even letting on.

“She told me,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Of course she did,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

Quinn, Santana, and another blonde at their core named Brittany, were like three peas in a pod. They had been inseparable since the day they’d met so naturally, Santana would tell Quinn something like this. And naturally, Santana would be behind such a scheme.

“So you’re saying that she came up with the Blaine Anderson case for me because she thinks we’ll become boyfriends?” Kurt questioned, trying to get the motive straight. He sipped his coffee and grabbed his ID badge, preparing to head out of the apartment and up to the office. Quinn nodded her head.

“I know that it’s kind of frowned upon to get involved with clients, but I think the entire office would be on board with this,” Quinn stated. “Besides, you’ve read his file. He’s perfect for you.”

Kurt scoffed. “I thought the same thing about Chandler and then Adam and look how great they turned out,” he stated. He switched gears to his communicator as he passed through the apartment door and proceeded to secure it locked for the day before heading for the elevator at the other end of the corridor.

When Quinn replied, he could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Everybody has flukes and neither of them were good for you.”

Kurt let out a breath. “Yeah, and then you guys tried to get me and Elliott to go out, saying we would be perfect for each other. See how well that worked?” he said, increasing his step.

“Yeah,” she said. “It ended with you guys in bed.”

“We were drunk.”

“Still.”

“No, not still. Being piss drunk off our asses is not a cause to feel like you have accomplished a goal Lucy Q. Fabray,” he deadpanned.

“Okay, okay,” she said quickly, attempting to back pedal. “I surrender. I know both you guys were horrified after that. But trust me, I really do think you and Blaine could work.”

Kurt pressed the elevator call button and let out a sigh. “There’s still a major hurdle Quinn,” he said.

“What’s that?” she asked.

Kurt was quiet a moment as the elevator dinged and opened the doors for him. He stepped aboard. “The fact that he’s supposed to be dead in our timeline right now.”

Quinn didn’t reply. He knew that she knew that he was right. Pulling Blaine from a time where he was meant to die and not live past fifteen, into the workings of the present world was going to be a big enough obstacle to tackle in itself, without the overlay of playing matchmaker and trying to get him and Kurt together.

“I guess the best thing we can really do is play it by ear,” he finally said, breaking the silence from his end. He watched the elevator doors slide shut. Quinn still didn’t reply but that was okay. He knew that by now, she was making the preparations for him to shoot right off to seven-year-old Blaine’s world. Quinn knew very well how he worked. There was going to be very little conversing when Kurt got up to the office.

Given that half the day was over already, Kurt knew that there would be no time for dilly-dallying around before setting off. His best guess was that Mike was already gone on the Ripper case, unless he hadn’t bothered to come back the day before. Kurt hadn’t been intending to return from his own mission until he had worked himself up to bringing Blaine back. As it were though, even if he got to that point and stopped Sebastian, the damage was already done. There would still already be a Blaine running around in the present. So he knew what was going to need to be done.

“Fabray,” he said as he marched into the Travel Office. She looked up from the computer, giving him a knowing smirk, though he was quite sure she was expecting his words to be something other than what he did say. “Tell Puckerman to prepare Blaine for deletion after he finds him.”

The blonde woman stared at him for a moment. “Deletion? Hummel?” It was clear to him that she hadn’t arrived at the same conclusion as he had just yet.

He moved quickly to the transport platform. “Even if I manage to stop Sebastian from taking Blaine in the past, the damage is already done,” he said. “With a Blaine already here in the future, stopping Sebastian in the past will effectively make two Blaine’s for this timeline, which we can’t have. It will be better to dispose of the one that’s less informed.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Quinn replied. “Will do.”

Kurt gave her a nod just before his transport was put into transmission and he vanished from the platform.

It was only moments later, he found himself materializing once more in the same woods surrounding the Anderson property and he made a bee-line for the house. He wasn’t sure what day it was or whether Blaine was home or what he would find when he got to the actual house. But the first thing he spotted as he drew nearer, had him stopping in his tracks and hiding behind a nearby tree.

Pam Anderson was standing in the backyard with her arms folded across her chest. A man, who could only be Mr. Anderson was pacing in front of her. On the porch, Kurt could see Blaine, now a bit bigger as he was two years older than the last time he saw him, and another boy who had to be at least ten years older than Blaine, maybe a few years less. It must have been Cooper, which reminded Kurt that he needed to check on whether Puck had tracked Blaine’s brother down in the present day. Neither boy seemed to be pay their parents any mind.

“Fabray,” Kurt spoke in a whisper into his communicator, hiding more firmly behind the tree.  
  
“Read you Hummel,” came the reply.

“Check with Puckerman on the progress of locating Cooper Anderson,” he told her.

“On it!” she said.

Kurt lowered his wrist and peered once more around the tree, determined to see what was going on. He pulled a device out of his shoulder bag and slipped into his ear. And the moment he did, he could hear the Andersons as clearly as though he were standing right there beside them.

“…made me promise to look out for them,” Pam was saying. Mr. Anderson threw a glare at his wife.

“I don’t care what that woman made you promise! She’s dead now! People dying is made for breaking promises!”

Kurt felt his very blood boil. He didn’t need to know anymore to know exactly what the man was talking about. Something would have to be done about this immediately. He opened a small compartment on his communicator. Inside, was a button that was only to be pressed in emergencies and considering how Mr. Anderson had just insulted his mother, this was an emergency.

His finger hovered over the button for several moments, before he thought better of the idea and instead, hit the button to return to his own time.

Quinn looked up startled when she saw Kurt return not five minutes after he had left. And she was even more startled by the furious expression on his face. “Hum—”

“What’s Mr. Anderson’s address?” Kurt bit out, cutting her off.

“I—what?” she replied.

“Blaine’s father,” Kurt stated, his tone flat. “I want his current address. Now,” he went on. Quinn could tell that in the short few minutes Kurt had gone to Blaine’s timeline, something extremely bad had happened.

“What happened?” she asked carefully as she started to look it up. 

Kurt stood there, tapping his foot, feeling his anger stew. “I told you that Pam and my mom were best friends in high school. I got there and I guess my mom had just died because Pam was telling her husband about how she had promised my mom she would look after my dad and I. And he told her he didn’t care, and I quote ‘what that woman made you promise! She’s dead now!’ I have never been so angry in my life.”

Quinn stared at him in shock for a moment. Mr. Anderson had clearly just tossed Kurt’s mother away like she didn’t matter to anyone. No wonder Kurt was so angry. She didn’t say anything but printed out the address she found and handed it to him. She knew there was no talking him out of this even if she wanted to. At least he was having the sense to do it in the present day, rather than freezing the past to yell at the man.

“Bonding with Blaine will have to wait. I have a rat to deal with. I’ll apologize to Blaine later,” he said and turned to swiftly make his way out of the office. Quinn knew that Kurt meant business. As he said his dad always said, nobody pushes the Hummels around.


End file.
